Leadership Team Report: December 2018

What a lot we have to celebrate and give thanks for. We started the year off with IGNITE, attended by ninety people, our first Away Day for EMC, which was a brilliant day with worship, praise and an inspirational speaker Martyn Atkins, focusing on Mission and Outreach. This was followed on by the Bible Course over eight weeks which was repeated on two days of the week due to demand and attended by close to one hundred people.

We have seen the growth of house groups, prayer ministry and the start of the chaplaincy service in Roots, the Loss and Bereavement Support Group and a Christian Book lending scheme led by Kathryn and Peter Thompson, all in the current year.

We give thanks for our Ministerial team who deliver the preaching plan and meet quarterly for mentorship, support and planning and do so much more. We give thanks for our musicians who augment our worship in so many ways with diversity, co-operation, dedication and flexibility. With their skills we see integration across the worship band at 9am,10.30am and Café Worship services and special services such as All Souls and the Harvest Celebration. A variety of instruments is available including the new organ, new piano, and guitar, flute and singing voices. We thank our reliable and dedicated team operating the sound desk for our services and other events.

Thank you for those who have served refreshments after services over the years. A special thank you to Sheila, John and Rachel King who have managed the team so well for over four years. We now give thanks for a new team led by Hazel Jump and Jane Barden, who will serve refreshments from the Roots area. They will be delighted to receive any offers of help.

We give thanks for the improvements in the building resources which enhance the facilities used by us and the community. Thanks go to the Resources Committee for their diligence in overseeing these developments.

Thank you to Beryl Furness for her long service in managing the office and for the team of volunteers who now staff the office, daily. Thank you to our Office Staff who help with the smooth running of the building and the lettings which work so well making our premises the hub of activity for a great part of the day.

We give thanks for Roots which grows beyond original expectations. It is now open Saturday mornings. Thanks go to Wendy and Hayley who work so well together and for our dedicated volunteers without whom Roots could not be sustained. Wendy and Hayley have great ideas for Christmas including a visit from Father Christmas. MAG (Mission Action Group) will supply Roots with Christian literature for children and adults over the Christmas period and beyond.

We look forward to all the Christmas services using opportunities to share God’s love for all, within our community and beyond. We look forward to INSPIRE on January 26: an Away Day for the whole Church led by Tom Thompson and his team from the Croydon Vineyard and to the Alpha Course, launching in January.

We thank everyone who contributes to the Christian life at EMC, often in unseen roles behind the scenes.

A blessed Christmas to everyone

Jane Williams

Senior Steward,

Church Council October 2018 – Epsom Rejoice Choir Annual Report

Vision and Mission

Epsom Rejoice Choir is a church-based community choir. The choir is a friendly group of singers who wish to bring joy through singing and also to spread the Christian faith. It enjoys singing a diversity of choral repertoire which includes both sacred and secular songs. The choir aims to use music to assist the ministry of EMC, to support evangelical / outreach projects and helping with fundraising events for local charities. The group also hope to establish and maintain a close fellowship among the choir members so together they can support each other in growing both musically and spiritually.

Church Council October 2018 – Children and Family Work Annual Report

We have been grateful for the work at EMC of John Wilson who left in June 2018 after 6 years of service and ministry here as our Children and Family Worker.

With permission from Church Council we have been seeking to recruit a new children and family worker to join our team. We have advertised nationally twice (first for a full-time position, and then for a modified part-time position) but our search for the right candidate has not yet been successful. We are keeping this opportunity open, however, and for the present time are continuing to advertise locally and to follow up with interested individuals.

Church Council October 2018 – Roots Coffee Shop Annual Report

Roots opened its doors to the public on 18th April 2017. The management team (formerly the steering group) are extremely happy with the way the project has developed over the sixteen months to 31st August 2018. This is in no small way due to the efforts of Wendy Hitchin who has been employed since the beginning and Hayley Andrews was recently appointed joint manager. The team is confident Wendy and Hayley’s skill sets will work well together to increase the footfall and success of Roots and already we have seen some of our regular customers attend Sunday services.

Church Council October 2018 – Youth Group Annual Report

Youth group has now been running for two years. We have lost a few members to university or increased school pressures but have gained new members. We meet every other week and have a regular attendance of between 3 and 5 members.

Church Council October 2018 – Guiding Annual Report

This year has been another busy but brilliant year for the Girlguiding groups who meet at EMC. There is one Rainbow unit, three Brownie units, one Guide unit and one Ranger unit. They are run by amazing leaders who give up their free time to provide these opportunities to the girls. In September, we were saddened to lose Joyce Townsend. She had helped at Brownies for many years and has been sorely missed.

In October, we celebrated the 85th anniversary of the first units opening at EMC. We had a weekend of events including an afternoon event with games, face painting, afternoon tea, a raffle and displays with memorabilia. We also had the unveiling of a special banner made to commemorate the occasion by the Wesley Quilters. Then we had a special church service with the dedication of the banner and a shared lunch.